Improvement in vapor-bath apparatus



J. V. HIRLEY. VAPOR-BATH APPARATUS.

Patented Sept. 25,1877.

.PETHS. FHOTO-LKTHOGRAPHER WASHlNGTON, D Cv UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES V. HIRLEY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN VAPOR-BATH APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 195,448, dated September 25, 1877 application filed June 23, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. V. HIRLEY, of Oincinnati, Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bathing Apparatus; and I hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and the letters of reference marked thereon, representing the invention as applied in use.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, cheap, convenient, and portable bathing apparatus, adapted for the uses of travelers or the sick, particularly for treating invalids with medicated vapor-baths; and my invention consists in an improved cloak, as hereinafter specified, to be used by the patient, standing or seated on an open-seated chair, so that vapors, medicated or otherwise prepared,'may be introduced around the patient, within the said cloak.

The cloak is of rubber cloth or other flexible and impervious material, lined on the inside with flannel. The hood B need not be used except in cases where the head is the seat of disease; but in neuralgia or cutaneous affections of the head the hood is especially adapted to permit the medicated vapor to reach and act upon the affected parts. By thus exposing the head with the body to the action of the vapor the temperature of the entire body of the invalid is equalized, and far better curative effects are attained than can be reached by any other method.

The cloak A, with its hood B, (so attached that when in use a space or opening is left at the back, through which the vapor rises,) together with the vapor-generating lamps and cups and stand, are conveniently portable, and may be packed with a travelers wardrobe in a space less than half a cubic foot.

I propose, for the treatment of certain disorders, to prepare the linings of these cloaks with various chemical solutions, such as have been approved by the medical profession; but this method of applying remedies need not be more particularly described with reference to the particular ailments that human flesh is heir to, as it is well known that such linings may be made to emit any medicament with which it has been previously saturated, by the simple application of the vapor-bath. It is obvious that my hooded-cloak may be used for all the purposes for which an ordinary bath can be used; and, besides being far less expensive than the ordinary apparatus, its portability enables every one to enjoy the luxury of a simple vapor-bath or a medicated vapor-bath, whether at home or in traveling.

The top of the hood B is provided with a sponge, a, which, being saturated with cold water and resting upon the head of the patient, prevents the overheating and flow of blood to the brain, which might otherwise ensue from enveloping the body in a heated vapor or heated air. Besides this appendage I have provided a thermometer, b, attached to a lappel or tag, which may be thus placed within or without the cloak, so as to enable the bather to regulate or prevent excessive temperature by permitting the escape of vapor or heated air through the front opening of the cloak. The flexibility of the cloak enables the bather to use a sponge or towel in bathing.

The neck of the cloak may be closed when the hood is not used, by the band 0; but when the hood is used, a cord inserted in the border-hem will fasten the hood around the face of the bather, as shown in the drawings; and this band, with its tightening-cord, also serves to regulate the flow ot' the vapor into the hood around the head, there being space within the cloak, around the neck of the person, through which the vapor passes, so that the tightening or loosening of the band diminishes or increases the said space.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a portable vapor'bath apparatus, an impervious hooded cloak, provided with a neck band to control the passage of vapor around the head of the person, and the hood, being provided with a sponge or an equivalent absorbent pad, to rest upon the top of the persons head, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

JAMES V. HlRLEY.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. TBEMBLE, L. M. HOSEA. 

